A Vietnamese student who suffered serious injuries, following the freak accident in which an 80 kilo loose truck wheel hit the bus he was travelling in on Auckland's Southern Motorway, has died in Auckland Hospital, New Zealand last Thusday.
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| Victim Ha Xuan Lam |
The wheel came off while the truck was travelling south near Mt Wellington and hit a bus on the other side of the motorway.
Family members had gathered at his bedside before turning off his life support.
The passenger was in the front seat of the bus near the driver. The wheel injured three other passengers in the bus, none seriously.
His cousin, Dylan Tran, said he used the bus because he got motion sick and it was more convenient than the train.
"That's why he sat at the front, to get a better view ... to make him feel better."
Greg Miller, group general manager of Toll New Zealand, which operates the truck, said the company expressed its sympathies to those injured in the accident.
Witness Jonathan Sanders was driving south on the motorway. "The rear truck wheels separated and materialised from under the truck trailer, having caused substantial damage to the truck.
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| The truck missing two wheels on the Southern Motorway at Otahuhu. Photo / NZPA |
"Both wheels separated, with one running to the left of the lanes and the other bouncing madly across the highway into oncoming traffic," he said.
When the wheel hit the windscreen, the bus windows "exploded".
"The wheel struck a car and then the bus. The bus windows just exploded inwards, missing the driver."
One southbound lane was closed and another northbound closed for about two and a half hours.
Some further closures were enforced southbound so police could look for the truck's wheel nuts.
Zane Fulljames, NZ Bus general manager of operations, said the driver was severely shaken and had been stood down from his duties so support could be provided for him.
Vietnamese Friendship Association president Nguyen Dang said he understood Ha had only been in New Zealand a short time.
A spokeswoman for Waka Pacific said they were "immensely saddened" to hear Ha died on Friday night.
"This is a tragic accident and our hearts go out to his family and friends at this time."
Other passengers reported being showered with broken glass in the incident, about 7.40am last Thursday.
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| The accident's field |
Mr Tran drove past the crash scene on the Southern Motorway on his way to work.
"I just thought 'it's just another accident', and went to work. Then I got a call from my sister at home. She was just about to go to work as well and the police knock on the door and they said 'Ha has been in an accident, you better come and see him'."
His sister called him at work and he "dropped everything" to go to his cousin's bedside.
"He was already brain dead, we were told by the doctor."
His family in Auckland gathered to say goodbye before life support was switched off.
"It was a terrible moment. You wouldn't wish it on any family," Mr Tran said.
"He didn't deserve this."
His parents in Vietnam were so upset they were unfit to travel. His body will be flown home on January 21 after a funeral service in Auckland.
